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Cornus nuttallii

Nuttall's Dogwood · Mountain Dogwood · Western Flowering Dogwood · Pacific Dogwood

Family CornaceaeGenus Cornus

A white flower of four broad notched bracts around a dome of tiny green florets, on a branch in deep woodland shade.
FlowerWalter SiegmundCC BY 2.5

About the plant

What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.

The plant

Habit
treePlants of the World Online
Habit
Perennial, TreePLANTS Database
Height
50.0 ft15 mPLANTS Database
Flower
GreenPLANTS Database
Blooms
Mid SpringPLANTS Database
Native range
British Columbia, California, Idaho, Oregon, WashingtonGBIF Backbone Taxonomy

Growing conditions

Sun
Shade tolerance: LowPLANTS Database
Soil
Adapted to medium, fine textured soilsPLANTS Database
Soil pH
4.9-7.3PLANTS Database
Moisture
Moisture use: MediumPLANTS Database
Watering
Drought tolerance: LowPLANTS Database

Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.

Sources: Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; PLANTS Database — USDA NRCS; GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Worth knowing

  • The west coast's flowering dogwood, with a bigger 'flower' than the eastern one, usually six bracts instead of four. John James Audubon, who painted it in Birds of America, named it for its collector, Thomas Nuttall. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Cornus nuttallii

This source reports three treatments. All are shown.

Protocol 1

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Moderate Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around September 17, 2027 for a May 3 last frost. Too late for spring 2027 — that needed starting on September 16, 2026.

  1. Clean the flesh off the seed

  2. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

  3. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  4. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

about 6 months from start to step 4. Germination happens during step 4; time not stated, 21 days assumed.

75% germination.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Cornus p. 123Public domain
Show the original text
Cornus (Cornaceae). Seeds are always in berries so that WC was performed on all seeds before planting. Grinding ahole in the seed coat had no effect in C. nuttallii germ. under all treatments. Most convenient is 40-70(50% in 8-10 d) for either fresh seed or seed DS 6 m at 70. Less convenient was outdoor treatment (2/7) and 70-40-70(3/4 in 412 d).
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Cornus p. 123. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 2

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Moderate Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around December 26, 2026 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Clean the flesh off the seed

  2. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  3. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

about 3 months from start to step 3. Germination happens during step 3, in 10 days.

50% germination in 8–10 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Cornus p. 123Public domain
Show the original text
Cornus (Cornaceae). Seeds are always in berries so that WC was performed on all seeds before planting. Grinding ahole in the seed coat had no effect in C. nuttallii germ. under all treatments. Most convenient is 40-70(50% in 8-10 d) for either fresh seed or seed DS 6 m at 70. Less convenient was outdoor treatment (2/7) and 70-40-70(3/4 in 412 d).
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Cornus p. 123. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 3

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty High Rated by us, not by the source.

  1. Clean the flesh off the seed

  2. Sow outdoors and leave it

No stated waiting before sowing.

29% germination.

This source doesn't state how long step 2 lasts.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Cornus p. 123Public domain
Show the original text
Cornus (Cornaceae). Seeds are always in berries so that WC was performed on all seeds before planting. Grinding ahole in the seed coat had no effect in C. nuttallii germ. under all treatments. Most convenient is 40-70(50% in 8-10 d) for either fresh seed or seed DS 6 m at 70. Less convenient was outdoor treatment (2/7) and 70-40-70(3/4 in 412 d).
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Cornus p. 123. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.

Germination trials

Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials

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